


Escape (with me)

by sam4587



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Cuddling, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Nature, Snow, Winter, basically they just escape the castle for some alone-time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29428746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam4587/pseuds/sam4587
Summary: Merlin and Arthur get out of the castle together, to get away from duty – and prying eyes.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 81





	Escape (with me)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my introduction to Merlin fic, so bear with me... I hope it's at least a little okay. Please let me know what you think!
> 
> Disclaimer: The story is mine, BBC Merlin is not. Please do not repost.

“Rise and shine!”

Arthur groans and buries his head in his pillow against the bright sunlight that comes streaming into the room when Merlin throws the curtains wide open. He tries desperately to keep his eyes away from the light, but when Merlin decides to invade his privacy – again – and pull his bedsheets off of him, he has no other choice but to look at his servant.

“What’s the matter with you? Can’t you let a man wake up in peace? Or better yet, let a man sleep in peace?” he complains.

Merlin beams, his blue eyes shining in the morning light. “Nope! Today’s a beautiful day, and you have a council meeting this morning. Come on, out of bed, and eat your breakfast, _sire_.”

Arthur squints at the unrespectful way Merlin uses his title, but lets it slide. Instead, he gets up and walks over to his manservant, with his chest bare and only wearing his breeches. He feels a mischievous smile form on his face when he notices Merlin can’t take his eyes off of him.

“Why don’t you join me? Knowing you, there’s enough breakfast for the entire castle, and I’ll need some help eating that all. You might as well- Hey!” he cuts himself off when Merlin reaches for the plate on the table and takes _all_ of his sausages away. Arthur lunches forward in an attempt to stop him, but Merlin pops them in his mouth and smiles at the prince.

“What? You said I could! By the way, you look like you could do with a little less,” he adds, with one eyebrow raised in a creepily accurate impression of Gaius.

Arthur scowls and opens his mouth to retort – he’s _not_ fat! – but Merlin has already lost his interest in the subject. He turns to the window and looks out over the lower town.

“It’s snowed. Isn’t it beautiful?” he says dreamily, and Arthur comes up behind him. Without taking his eyes off Merlin’s back, he answers.

“Yes, beautiful, indeed. That’s what I was thinking.”

Before Merlin can answer that, Arthur steps closer and wraps his arms around the man’s waist. He rests his chin on Merlin’s shoulder and looks out the window, the sides of their faces pressed together. He feels Merlin instinctively relax into his touch, and the man leans his head backwards on Arthur’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to go to the council. I want to take you with me and enjoy the snow together. What do you think?” he whispers softly in Merlin’s ear, and he can feel him shivering in his arms – whether it’s from the thought of the snow, or from his breath against his skin, he doesn’t know. Either way, Merlin smiles softly and turns his head.

“I’d love that.” He presses his lips against Arthur’s softly, and then retreats. “But I think your father wouldn’t be very pleased when he hears you’ve skipped out again. Remember what happened last time?”

Arthur shivers and nods his understanding. Yes, that had not been a good scene; they has left without saying anything, in order to escape the council meeting, but Uther had not taken that very well and sent out search parties across the whole kingdom. When they had returned, flushed from the sun – and _only_ the sun, of course – Arthur had received a lecture about responsibility and his obligation to the kingdom. “Okay, fine, so we won’t disappear without saying anything. How do you feel about a hunt?” He raises his eyebrows, knowing Merlin’s standpoint towards hunts.

“A hunt? Seriously? You want to take _me_ on a hunt for fun? What- Oh,” he adds silently when the realization dooms. Merlin smiles and then nods ferociously. “But a hunt won’t get you out of a meeting, I’m afraid. Come on, finish your breakfast, and by the time you get back from the council, I’ll have the horses ready to leave.”

Arthur sighs and accepts the fact that his servant won’t let him get out of listening to the councilmen bantering over boring stuff. He releases his grip on Merlin’s waist – throughout their whole conversation, they hadn’t let go of each other – and after his breakfast, he leaves his chambers to go to the throne room. When he pulls the door closed behind him, Merlin has just started polishing his armor – his eyes a beautiful shade of gold and from across the room. The prince makes sure to close the door all the way, so no one accidentally sees his sorcerer at work.

-*-*-*-

By the time the meeting ends, Arthur feels like his head will explode if he hears another word about how evil magic is and how the kingdom ‘needs to be cleansed of this disease’. When his father declares the council dismissed, he stands up immediately and informs Uther that he’ll be out hunting the rest of the day, and possibly the next day too. He makes sure his father has no reason to keep him from going; his knights’ training is in the capable hands of Leon, and there are no other urgent matter that require his presence at the castle. So a little later, he’s on the back of his horse, riding through the woods surrounding Camelot, with Merlin at his side.

“Arthur. Arthur. Arthur, can you hear me?”

Arthur gets pulled out of his thoughts by Merlin’s voice. He startles and turns to his left. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Merlin laughs (which is only more distracting to Arthur, seriously, how is he expected to keep his thoughts together with Merlin throwing his head backwards with laughter, exposing his neck, and then that sound, it’s the most beautiful sound in the world, and- no, _focus_ ) and gestures to the side. “I saw a stream over there. Care for a break? I feel like my butt is going to fall off if we sit on these horses for any longer.”

Arthur shrugs and steers his horse off the path, in the direction Merlin pointed in. He can’t see anything through the thick layer of trees next to the path they’re following, but then again, he hasn’t really been paying attention to their surroundings either.

He can’t suppress a gasp in surprise when they emerge from the trees. It’s truly a beautiful scene; a small stream meanders through the woods, and everything is blinding white. The sun reflects off of the snow, causing him to temporarily close his eyes against the sudden light, but not too long; Merlin nudges him and they get off their horses, letting the two animals roam freely around. They’re the same two horses they always use; they won’t go away too far, and they’ll be there when they need them again. Merlin walks slowly towards the water, which is flowing for some unknown reason, despite the snow indicating the freezing temperatures. With that observation, Arthur also notices the surprising amount of green surrounding them; it’s the middle of the winter, how come there are so much living plants here?

One look at Merlin’s face answers his question. His servant is looking at him with bright eyes, his skin is almost shining. His smile splits his whole face in two, and Arthur can’t help but laugh at the pure delight on the warlock’s face.

“Can you feel it? Can you feel the energy in this place? It’s amazing!” Merlin laughs and spreads his arms wide open, as if he wants to give the place a hug or something. He looks so happy, it makes something inside Arthur stir. He slowly walks toward Merlin and stops right in front of him.

“Let me guess. You didn’t see anything back on the path, did you? You just felt it.”

Merlin looks like he wants to deny it for a split second, but then he just laughs again and throws his arms around Arthur’s neck. He buries his face in the crook of the prince’s neck and sighs contently. Arthur’s arms come up and he wraps them around Merlin’s back, pulling him closer. For a while, they just stand there, until Merlin pulls back and looks Arthur in the eyes.

“I’m going crazy in the castle. Thank you for taking me away.” He murmurs, before stopping Arthur from answering by pressing their lips together. Arthur kisses him back, but then retreats with a frown.

“What’s the matter at the castle, then? Has something happened? Can I do something about it?” He cups Merlin’s face in his hands and forces him to look at him. He’s quite sure the worry is visible in his eyes, because Merlin smiles and softly answers him.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just… Let’s sit down, shall we?” He interrupts himself and guides Arthur to a patch of smooth snow. His eyes burn gold for a moment and the snow disappears, making a square of green grass for them to sit on. As expected, the grass is warm and not even slightly wet when Arthur sits down next to Merlin, with their bodies pressed together.

Merlin sighs and stares at the water in front of them. For several moments, neither of them say anything, until Arthur nudges Merlin with his elbow softly, to prompt him to speak his mind.

Merlin tears his eyes away from the water and looks at the prince next to him. He smiles and leans closer, brushing his lips lightly over Arthur’s before resting their foreheads together. “It’s okay. I’m glad you… I’m glad you know about my magic. I’m glad I get to share it with you.”

Even if he doesn’t say it, Arthur can hear the underlying message in Merlin’s words; he’s glad he gets to share it with Arthur, but he wishes he could share it with all of them. He nods and mutters his agreement. “So am I. Things will change. You’ll get the recognition you deserve, and you’ll be safe. We just have to be careful for now. You know that, right?”

Merlin scoffs and pulls back a little. “Yes, Arthur, I know that. I know that if I’m caught by anyone else but you, I’ll be death before I can see another sunrise. Believe me, I know.” He sighs and leans back into Arthur’s touch. “But… let’s drop it. We came here to decompress, not to worry more. Let’s not worry.” He repeats, and Arthur hums his approval. He puts his arms around Merlin’s waist and lays them both on their backs, chests pressed together and legs tangled. Merlin’s head rests on his shoulder and Arthur raises his gaze up to look at the sky. It’s blue, so blue, with not a cloud to be spotted. The tops of the trees are covered with thin layers of snow, and if he’d reach his hand out, he could touch the snow surrounding them on the ground. In the middle of their little magical patch of grass, he lays listening to Merlin’s steady breathing, and he sighs happily.

Life in the castle may be a battle against different forces every day, but if he can get days like these to escape every now and then, he can get through it. The sound of the water flowing nearby lulls them both to sleep after a while, and Arthur can feel the buzz of Merlin’s magic keeping them warm, despite the snow and the freezing temperatures. By the time they wake up to eat some of the food Merlin packed, he feels like he could take on the world, as long as he has Merlin at his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! You can follow me on [Tumblr](https://sam4587.tumblr.com/) if you want to! :-)


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